LONDON – Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, Britain’s biggest government-controlled bank, will eliminate 3,500 U.K. jobs and close 10 offices to reduce costs.
The cuts in technology and administration will involve the closure of English offices including Leeds, Bolton, Telford and Bradford in the next 12 months, the Edinburgh-based company said in a statement today.
The reductions bring the total number of British jobs cut by the bank to more than 20,000 since Chief Executive Officer Stephen Hester took over the role two years ago during a government rescue. The 83 percent taxpayer-owned bank last week announced plans to close 14 offices as part of cuts at its insurance division.
“The news that the Royal Bank of Scotland is to cut another 3,500 staff from across the U.K. is a horror story,” said trade union Unite’s national officer Rob MacGregor in a statement today. “It will be a specially bitter pill for staff to swallow as RBS has decided to move some of the jobs abroad.”
RBS will move 500 of the roles to the U.S., India and the Far East, said Unite. RBS employs about 160,000 people globally, of whom 100,000 are in the U.K.
“Having to cut jobs is the most difficult part of our work to rebuild RBS and repay taxpayers for their support,” said RBS is a statement. “We continue to make efficiencies across our business and adjust our plans in line with the divestments we have been required to make by the European Union.”
The cuts come after the bank sold 318 branches to Banco Santander last month to comply with a European Union ruling on state aid. About a third of today’s reductions relate to the sale, Unite said.
